The Safety of Elderly Pedestrians at Five Urban Intersections in Miami

A study of five intersections was conducted in the city of Miami Beach to identify the problems encountered by young, middle-aged, and old pedestrians. Data were collected using questionnaires and videotapes. Both the survey and the videotape data support pedestrian difficulties at the intersections studied. Highlights of these findings are as follows: Pedestrians generally found the time available for pedestrians to cross the street too short. The data show that for the 15th percentile older pedestrian three of the four signalized intersections studied provided insufficient crossing time. A major cause of the difficulties of older pedestrians can be attributed to physical limitations. There was a substantive number of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts and in the majority of these conflicts the pedestrians were at fault. The results of this study underscore the need for countermeasures that include engineering design considerations and educational campaigns for drivers and pedestrians.